


Grounded

by CallingAllWishingStars



Category: Brave (2012), Disney - All Media Types, Disney Princesses, How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Community: disney_kink, Disney, F/M, Revenge, Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 06:49:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallingAllWishingStars/pseuds/CallingAllWishingStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WARNING: Briefly mentioned character death!</p><p>With Astrid dead at the hands of raiders, Hiccup has only revenge on his mind. When he finds allies in Scotland, the companionship Merida offers is something he can't refuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grounded

When Hiccup sat cradling Astrid's cold body in his arms, he felt his heart freeze up. Astrid, his best friend, his lover, the one who had been his greatest support and confidence in all things... and she was gone forever. Not even killed in the heat of battle, which he knew she would have called 'a good Viking death' at least, but slaughtered by cowardly raiders in the night while she'd gone to check on Stormfly and her eggs.

Toothless nudged him, humming his love and sorrow, but even the presence of his dragon didn't help. He ran his fingers through Astrid's hair, hating that his touch left behind blood, her own blood from his futile attempts to stop the bleeding, and pressed one last kiss to her forehead.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Astrid," he whispered, "but I swear by Thor's hammer that I'll see those raiders dead for what they've done."

\---

Stoic gave Hiccup his full support to take some of the dragon riders and two ships full of warriors to track down the raiders. The whole village cheered as the group set off, the dragons flying above the ships sailing under the command of Gobber. Looking down from high on Toothless, Hiccup stared past his cheering people to the burned houses and barns of Berk. Herders were still gathering the corpses of the butchered sheep the raiders didn't take with them. And he could see Stormfly warming her eggs as a dutiful mother but her head hung low and her usual high Nadder energy was gone.

Hiccup's hands tightened on the saddle and he turned away from the destruction of his home to set his eyes on the horizon.

\---

Their search led them hundreds of miles across the sea, stopping at other islands the raiders hit before moving on. Their final destination was the Kingdom of DunBroch. With the ships and dragons waiting further out in the harbor, Hiccup had touched down alone to request safe passage for his warriors and riders, along with a meeting with the king. His requests granted, Hiccup and Gobber were soon brought before King Fergus and the other Clan leaders.

Fergus confirmed that the raiders had struck at his kingdom but, with the other Clan leaders and their warriors here for their annual trade meeting, they'd managed to destroy their ships and send them running on foot further into the kingdom. Fearing for the villages under his protection, Fergus was eager to send warriors to protect them and gratefully accepted the help Hiccup and his people offered.

As they discussed the details, Hiccup found himself studying Princess Merida. All the Clan leaders had brought their heirs to the meeting but she was the only lady present. However, she was fully engrossed in the meeting, following the discussion of tactics and movement of man-power while even offering her own opinions on occasion. Even all the way in Berk, Hiccup had heard that Merida wasn't a typical princess but he was impressed to see it first hand.

Even more impressed was he when he discovered that King Fergus was allowing her to come along on the campaign. As Hiccup saw to his people and supplies unloaded from the ships, Merida rode past on a huge black horse, clearing the way for a cart of food and blankets. By the way her saddlebags were stuffed with supplies and her quiver full of arrows, Hiccup knew she wasn't just supervising the preparations.

When the company left together, following the road the raiders were last seen running down, Merida rode at the head of the gathered mass of man-power. Even from the air, Hiccup couldn't miss her flaming red hair. The Viking had to admit he liked her; her bold spirit, her obvious courage, the rumor of her archery skill. She was quite a princess. With a sad smile, Hiccup thought that Astrid would have liked her too.

After a long march, they settled in for the night. They hadn't yet caught up to the raiders but by the still smoking abandoned campfires they'd passed, the company wasn't far off. Scouts had gone on ahead but Fergus and Hiccup agreed to allow their men a rest. Entrusting Gobber to take care of the warriors, Hiccup saw to the dragons and their riders. They touched down a little ways off from the rest of the company, the horses too skittish to allow the dragons any closer. The riders stripped their dragons of saddles and gear to let them rest comfortably and brought over some sheep.

With the Toothless and the other dragons happily tearing into their dinners, Hiccup joined the other riders around a campfire. They were enjoying their dinners when Merida arrived with some of her warriors, who were carrying a barrel of alcohol between them. The riders eagerly jumped on the offered drink, Hiccup included, and invited Merida and the men to stay.

As the evening wore on and the liquid in the barrel dwindled down, Hiccup found himself deep in conversation with Merida while their riders and warriors roared with laughter over shared stories around them. The Viking and the princess discovered they had a great deal in common: heir to their people, uncertain if they're up to the task, the expectations of their families, even their grand adventures that had traveled through all the lands between each other. They outlasted all their companions, being the last in the light of the fire when the embers had finally died down. Which was lucky as no one saw when Merida grabbed Hiccup by his shirt to kiss him.

Their longer conversation had included a great deal of alcohol as well so the kiss was wet and messy. Hiccup hesitated for only a moment, Astrid's face flashing in his mind, but Merida was so warm against the cold night and he was so lonely...

They managed to stumble back to Hiccup's tent before they shed their clothes. The thin bedroll wasn't that comfortable but they were far too drunk and too focused on the task at hand to care when they fell on it, clinging to each other.

That night, that first time, was a quick hazy experience that neither would remember much of, except that it felt good. The next morning they were both plagued of aching heads and Hiccup with more than a little guilt and embarrassment. He dressed with his back to Merida, not speaking a word. He heard her sigh and then the blankets of the bedroll rustling. When he hoped she'd just dress and leave, the dragon-rider was shocked to feel her, still completely naked, press against his back and wrap her arms around him.

"Hiccup, I'm not looking for love or promises of a future together," she said into his shoulder. "I just... wanted to enjoy your company last night, I guess. And I thought you might want something to take your mind off things."

Her arms fell from his waist and she stepped back. "But I understand it was a one time thing. And that's okay. There's nothing wrong doing something that feels nice."

Hiccup kept his eyes away from her as Merida gathered up her clothing and quickly dressed. She left without another word.

The scouts had returned with reports of the large mass of raiders leaving a nearby village. They set off as quickly as they could but didn't make it in time. The damage had already been done and there was little to do but clean up the mess. Hiccup directed some of his riders to remove the larger pieces of rubble before they left. As the dragons lifted away the wrecked remains of homes, he couldn't avert his eyes from the bodies escorted from the village and the families mourning their loss. Too many painful memories flooded him of Berk and his own heartbreak there.

Fergus left behind some of his men to help the village and the company pressed on. By the time they rested that evening, Hiccup barely remembered their journey, too caught up in his own pain. When the fires had begun to die down, the Viking crept into the larger mass of tents. He found Merida's with no trouble, set up next to the larger tent of her father, and walked inside. She was asleep but woke the instant he placed his hand on her arm.

For a moment, he hesitated, knowing it wasn't proper to even ask and afraid Merida had meant it when she'd said it was just one night...

But Merida jumped out of her blankets and pulled Hiccup by the hand out of her tent. They hurried back to the privacy of his own tent to have an evening that they'd remember a great deal more clearly than the one before.

And so it went, that full week they tracked the raiders across the land, Merida would sneak away to Hiccup's tent in the night. No one stopped them or questioned them. If anyone saw them, they kept the rumors to themselves. Even Merida and Hiccup didn't discuss their relationship. When they met during the day, usually in strategy meetings with Fergus, Gobber, and the other Clan leaders, they kept up an air of polite courtesy.

But at night, when Merida stepped inside his tent, they fell on each other with a fierceness neither of them had felt before. There was no love between them, at least not the kind of love that led to gentle love-making. There was companionship in the meeting of two like-minded young adults, perhaps even a fondness and the start of a friendship, but no love. When they met at night, it was nothing but sex. Not even any consideration for their partner's pleasure, only a need to lose themselves in the other.

Hiccup still wasn't sure why Merida offered but he took her each and every night she came to him, trying desperately to bury his sorrow and his loneliness with every thrust inside her. He never asked and she never offered an answer. He only knew that she came of her own will to him and wasn't bothered by his treatment of her. She didn't mind when he marked her body with bites and bruises, or that his metal leg creaked and scratched when he was on top of her, or that sometimes he closed his eyes and whispered Astrid's name into her hair.

Merida gave just as good as she got, scratching him in return with her nails and even occasionally forcing him onto his back so she could have control. Her actions assured Hiccup's brief moments of guilt that she wanted their nights together. He would never know the reason but when she told him to go faster, to go harder, he knew she was enjoying their odd but mutually beneficial situation.

All the week of Hiccup and Merida's tryst, the company continued to follow the raiders without much success. They hit smaller villages fast enough that there was little for the Scottish and the Vikings to do but deal with the aftermath and continue their pursuit. Each day Hiccup and his dragon riders flew ahead of the warriors, trying to track the raiders. With their large numbers, they thought locating them wouldn't be an issue. But the raiders were crafty and kept the men of Fergus and Hiccup busy with dealing with the damage left behind.

Finally they got lucky. One of the dragon riders managed to locate the mass of raiders. Though it was only one dragon, the surprise of a fire-breathing reptile right above their heads sent the bandits running right into the warriors' waiting hands. Despite their fear, the raiders still brought their arms to bear and the fight was on.

Returning from his own scouting just in time for the battle, and with Toothless unable to his fire down without hurting their allies, Hiccup landed, sword in hand, and ran into the fray with nothing but vengeance on his mind. The Viking cut into the raiders left and right, intent only on seeing their blood on his blade. Never had he felt such a rage before, not even when fighting Berserkers or Outcasts or wild dragons. For a while, he lost himself in the violence, concentrating only on the swing of his sword.

He only came back to himself when a hand touched his arm and he still swung about, ready to bring his sword down. Hiccup froze when he saw that it was Merida before him, her quiver nearly empty of arrows and her clothes sliced where the armor didn't cover. "Hiccup? It's done. The rest have surrendered."

His hand gripping his sword lowered as he stared at Merida, trying to understand her words. Because if the raiders had given up, if there was no one left to hate, no reason to hold onto his anger, then all that was left was...

Releasing his weapon completely, Hiccup covered his face with his hands and fell to the ground, tears in his eyes. In his mind, he was back on Berk, clinging to Astrid's still and cold form. The sorrow he had shoved away that night overwhelmed him and he didn't know how he could handle it.

But he wouldn't have to face it alone. Merida knelt on the ground and wrapped her arms around, letting him cry into her shoulder. And Toothless, rumbling with support for his friend, swept his wings over the pair to protect them from any prying eyes.

\---

That night, Hiccup stepped out of Fergus' tent, his meeting with the king and Clan leaders completed. Fergus would deal with the remaining raiders. The dead the Viking warriors had left on the field was their justice and they trusted the Scottish to see to the rest, rather than transport them back to Berk's small island.

He left the main mass of tents to return to his own, where Toothless was waiting. The Night Fury nudged his head under Hiccup's hands, demanding attention. With a small smile, he gave into the request. "Well, buddy, I guess we'll be on our way home now."

One of Toothless' ears suddenly pricked up and he pulled away from Hiccup's hands to stare past him. He turned to see Merida heading his way. When she stopped right in front of him, a silence stretched on between them. For all the time they'd spent together this last week, they hadn't spoken since that first night together. Their days were filled with polite chatter and their nights only with moans and screams. What did you say to someone in this position?

So Hiccup didn't say anything. He smiled at her and held out his hands. It was her first time seeing him smile. It was small, hesitant almost, but it was also completely genuine. So she returned the gesture and put her hands in his. Though his heart still hurt, it felt considerably lighter than it had in weeks. Without a word, he tugged her into his tent. Toothless, who'd been silently watching the exchange, rolled his eyes and set off to sleep among the other dragons, giving the Viking and the princess their privacy as he had all week.

In his tent, Hiccup let go of Merida's hands to gently hold her waist and pull her against him. Their bodies brushed together, sending a spark through their skins, but a different one than the other nights they met. This time, Hiccup was moving with deliberate slowness, with tenderness. He ducked his head to kiss the cleavage left exposed by her dress and Merida's hands tangled in his hair, holding him there. His hands left her waist to undo the bodice of her dress. When it fell away, she eagerly pulled him back and Hiccup took one of her nipples in his mouth.

Merida's knees were shaking by the time he left off her breasts. As she fumbled with his clothes, desperate to touch him, they lowered themselves to the bedroll and blankets. The princess ended up in Hiccup's lap, straddling him while running her fingernails up and down his chest and enjoying the little gasps he made. His hips thrust up into hers and they both groaned at the contact. They separated for a brief moment to shed themselves of the last of their clothes but were immediately back in each other's arms, seeking the feel of skin on skin.

For once, Hiccup didn't think of Astrid, only of Merida. Every move was done to make her feel good and he took great pride in little noises she made. His rage was gone. His grief was set aside for the moment. Now he wanted to give back to someone who had been there for him at his darkest moments, had let him take what he needed without any regard for her.

At the end of it all, they were both left sweating and panting. Instead of turning his back on Merida to sleep, as he had done before, he pulled her toward him and kissed her hair. She returned the embrace, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

Hiccup fell asleep with Merida in his arms, the touch of her skin under his hands keeping him grounded, just as she had every night since the evening they first met.

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for the Disney Kink Meme. Prompt: http://disney-kink.livejournal.com/4400.html?thread=5013296#t5013296 
> 
> I felt a bit bad because the original prompter asked for romance and a happy ending, and I took it in the completely opposite direction. If they ever come around to read my fill, hope they don't mind the changes. Oh well, I still had fun with this!


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